Illiterate
by Kate the Kannibal
Summary: AU, no DH. Harry grew up away from the Dursleys. He's always been able to trust no one but himself. Now he's thrown into Hogwarts and expected to behave. But there's something he needs to do that's outside of the school . . .
1. Chapter 1

Here it is! My new and improved version of London Streets. It isn't anything like London, but Harry will be similar in the fact that he wants to be independent. I'm rather fond of an indipendent Harry.

This is rated T, but It's a high T. There's quite a bit of language and talk of sex. It's not an M though - I don't feel like writing porn.

Disclaimer: Obviously, none of this is mine, or else I would be out celebrating the new release of 'my' book.

By the way, what did you think of Deathly Hallows? I won't say anything for those who haven't finished, but I'm curious about what you think.

* * *

Chapter 1

The clouds were dark and muggy, covering the sun from view. The weather had been rather gloomy in the lower part of Britain for most of the week, and not too many of the upstanding citizens were happy about it. The more corrupted side of town, on the other hand, was relishing in the bad weather. It was easier to stay in the shadows with less sun.

"Pst," A voice whispered to a broken door with a slot for people to see out. "Hey, Lex! Lex!" The young man sighed. "Greta? _Killian_, for Pete's sake! Can _someone_ come open this godda-" He was cut off when the door was opened abruptly. "Finally," the man grumbled.

"Oh, shut up, Slick." The man that opened the door had dark hair, a sharp face and had a sickly pale color to his skin.

"Geez, Lex, about bloody time you opened the door. I really don't want to get caught with this stuff. It's really hard to explain why a fifteen-year-old is running around with blood packs from the hospital." The younger man said.

Lex slipped his hand into the old torn-up bag on the younger man's back and pulled out the blood. He licked his lips. "Hey, thanks Slick."

"Yeah, yeah," Slick replied, shaking it off. "I want the money, though."

"Why did you call for Greta and Killian?" Lex asked, ignoring Slick's latest comment.

"Bloody - Well, you weren't answering. Greta - your _wife_ - wasn't either so I thought to myself, 'Self, why don't we call for the little three-year-old vampire?'" Slick said in a venomous, sarcastic tone. "Why he bloody hell _wouldn't _I call your son if no one answered the bloody door?"

"And I thought vampires were the ones obsessed with blood." Lex said, commenting on Slick's language.

"The _money_, Lex." Slick pressed.

"You really didn't ask for much." Lex commented, finally going to dig money out from behind a worn tapestry. "I thought you had people to feed. I don't need to go around buying food, but I'm pretty sure you need more than this for three."

"This isn't for food." Slick snapped, irritable with the twenty questions.

Lex raised an eyebrow and dropped the money into Slick's awaiting hand. "Well, that changes things, doesn't it?"

Slick rolled his eyes, but didn't comment. "Bye." And with that, he picked up his bag and left.

--------------------

Slick's next stop was yet another run-down make-shift house. Though, this one was a bit more worse for the wear. He knocked a pattern on the door, using his knuckles and palms to make different noises as required. Halfway through the knock, he heard someone get up from the front room and stand at the door, listening. Finally, the door opened.

"Hey Lucifer." There was a muscular, dirty blonde seventeen-year-old at the door in nothing but a pair of inside-out boxers. He was every girl's fantasy - not that 'Slick', also known as 'Lucifer' cared. He had a different name for everyone he knew, and no one called him by his birth name. It just went to show that he trusted no one - almost no one.

"Hey Pete." Lucifer said dully. He shot a glance at the couch that was barely visible and, sure enough, Britta - one of the girls that was in this group - was laying on it wearing nothing put a hastily tossed sheet. Last time Lucifer spoke to Pete, he and Britta swore to never get together again. Obviously someone had a change of heart.

"What's up?" Pete asked, pushing Lucifer inside and looking around the street before closing the door.

"I need more smokes. I'm out." Lucifer stated.

"Already?" Commented an angelic voice from the couch. Lucifer looked up to see the flawless blonde and blue-eyed Britta saunter in their direction, only barely holding up the sheet covering her. "We gave you some only three weeks ago."

"Yeah, well," Lucifer said irritably, "I used them, didn't I? That's kind of what you do - smoke it and bin it."

"Leave her alone, Lucifer." A third voice said. All three of them looked around to see a second girl walk down the hall.

"Lily." Lucifer greeted with a nod. Lily was only a year younger than Britta - 15 at best. She had pin-straight brown hair and a sullen and haunted look to her. She had always looked depressed, but she was worse after Lucifer had broken up with her. They hadn't really been dating, it was more of a fling with awesome sex, but Lily was still upset when they broke it off.

Lucifer looked around the group and then pulled the cash out off his bag. "Well, here's the money. Where's my stuff?"

Lily went into another room and came back with a few month's supply of cigarettes and a sour look. She never had liked Lucifer smoking. "Here," She said with an angry sneer. "Go kill yourself. I'm sure Brennan and Alice will appreciate it."

Lucifer showed the largest amount of emotion he'd shown the entire night. He had a look of pure anger on his face. "Don't you dare!" He shouted with a raspy voice, lunging forward only to have Pete hold him back.

"Luce!" He said, dragging him to the door. He took the money for the cigarettes and walked out the door with him. "Lucifer, calm down."

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down." Lucifer snarled, though he was quieting down slightly. "That bitch can just go fuck herself if she thinks she can say that shit about -"

"I know, that was below the belt." Pete said. "But calm down."

Lucifer ripped his arm from Pete's grip and glared furiously. Not a second later he had his face in an almost emotionless mask, though there was always a hint of anger on his face. He glared at Pete one last time before disappearing.

--------------------

Slick, Lucifer - _FUCK_, Harry Potter stormed up the old run-down apartment building in a rage. The apartment complex was no longer in use, but no one wanted to spend the money to tear it down or renovate it. After a few flicks of his wrist Harry had made the place stable, looking nice, secure, and sound-proof. It had been their home for a while - one of the only permanent places they'd lived in for a long time.

Running a hand down his face, Harry realized he needed to cool down. He couldn't act like this in front of the kids. A few deep breaths later and he walked down the hall to the door with the right shapes on the front.

He unlocked the door with a wave of his hand and he snuck in quietly. It was late and he hoped Brennan had put Alice down. He peeked around the corner and saw the Telly, which Harry had gotten to run on absolutely no power but magic, playing the end of a children's movie. An empty bowl sat on it's side and some popcorn was strewn across the coffee table and floor. Two bundles were leaning on either side of the couch, resting their heads on the arm rests.

A smile came unbidden to his face and Harry let it spread as he leaned against the doorframe.

Brennan was the elder at six, but he acted much older. He didn't look anything like Harry with short, white blonde hair, hazel eyes and a bronze look to his skin. Harry had found him when the boy was three and raised him ever sense. Brennan had taught himself to read and write and Harry couldn't have been more proud.

Alice was Harry's little angel at only four. Harry had found her when she was two. She didn't much like her 'brother' _or_ Harry with beautiful thick curly brown hair, full pouty lips, deep brown eyes and a cute round face. She was the little artist and loved to ask questions about everything.

"Daddy!" Harry looked up to see Alice sitting up and smiling at him. She ran across the room and Harry hoisted her into the air. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged him tightly around the neck as Brennan woke up and rushed over. Harry grabbed Brennan in his other arm, even though the boy was getting too big to carry.

He took them both back to the only bedroom that had a large king-sized four-poster bed. He dropped them both in the bed and reached for one of the few kids books that they had. He passed it to Brennan and the three sat down to have the young boy read before bed.


	2. Chapter 2

There haven't been too many reviews . . . one actually. .:cough:. But, I will continue valiantly, if only because I love this story to death. It's going in a very good direction at the moment.

I want to thank SlytheringRules for the support.

Reviews would be very much appreciated!

And does anyone want to be a beta?

* * *

Severus Snape wasn't having a particularly good day. The Dark Lord had summoned him the night before and, as per usual, he'd gotten a _Crucio_ for blinking or some such nonsence. And, obviously, late night _Crucio's_ made him sore the next morning. Soreness then resulted in crabbiness. So, thus far his morning was all around dissatisfactory. Add to the fact that the owl carrying his _Daily Prophet_ had run headlong into the closed window, causing Severus to spill his burning coffee - black, of course - all over his lap, and hea had an absolutely horrific morning. Additionally, if you wanted to add Peeves switching the temperatures for the tabs in his bathroom and the impending disaster of him freezing his bloody arse off in the shower, then Severus was prepared to _Avada Kedavra_ the next person that so much as looked at him funny. It really didn't matter that he was a spy for the Light. Dumbledore or no Albus Dumbledore, Snape was in the mood for a good killing curse. 

He had been called into the Headmaster's office for a rather small impromptu order meeting shortly after breakfast, and that was where he currently resided.

'Albus,' he sighed, massaging his temple testily, 'just get this over with.'

'Very well,' the head of the Order of the Phoenix complied, putting down the dish of lemon candies he'd been pressing upon various members. 'I believe that Kingsley may take the floor - unless, Alastor?'

Moody thunked forward from the shadows. 'We've found him. We've found Potter.'

As expected, the room exploded. _Idiots,_ Severus thought, _every last blithering one of them._ Black raged about 'taking him home', Molly Weasley went on about his health, the Aurors muttered about safety and the other Professors went abou the boy's schooling. He sighed. _Lovely, really, how organized we are,_ he thought to himself.

Albus, who seemed to finally get over his momentary shock, cleared his throat. The room went silent and the Headmaster turned to Moody again. 'What happened? What do we know?'

'You sent Tonks, Lupin and myself to track a few Death Eaters - Greyback to be more specific.' Kingsley said in his deep, slow voice. 'Obviously, Albus, you didn't expect us to find him so fast. We hardly expected, either. The real surprise was that he was in public - everyone knows that he doesn't particularly like human company - but more specifically he was in Knockturn Alley.'

'And how, exactly, is this prudent, Shacklebolt?' Severus sneered, wanting him to just hurry up.

'He was conversing with Potter.' Moody snarled at him. 'And, according to Tonks, they were acting like right chums.'

There was another mass explosion but Albus quickly shot it down with a raised hand. 'What else?' He asked the four that were there.

'He's at the Ministry Containment Centre right now.' Tonks informed everyone. 'He put up a bit of a fight, but we got him'

'A bit,' Lupin snorted, but Severus noticed he looked weary, worn down. Stupid wolf probably blamed himself or something equally Gryffindor - the word being interchangeable with ridiculous'

'Well,' Tonks ammended sheepishly, 'It was actually a pretty big fight. Greyback escaped in the very beginning, but Potter didn't seem bothered. He fought us all single-handedly, even the five backup we called for. Four of the Aurors were either knocked out, or incapacitated.' Tonks flushed and then added in a mumble, 'I was one of them.'

Severus smirked, not one to miss out on a perfect oppourtunity. 'A fifteen-year-old, Tonks?' He commented with a sneer, 'How embarassing. He hasn't even had an education.'

Tonks flushed an even brighter colour and Black glared at him. Severus settled back with a smug smirk, glad to take the cocky Auror down a peg. _Someone_ had to do it, after all. The young Aurors tended to get a big head.

'What do we know about him? About his past?' Albus pushed.

Tonks shrugged, getting over her embarassment. 'He won't talk. We can't give him veritaserum either, because he's a minor. We need his magical guardian - which I think is you. Was the custody ever changed back to Sirius when he got out?' She shot a look over at her cousin.

'Yes,' Albus replied with a nod. 'We changed guardianship within the week of Sirius' court case.'

Kingsley nodded this time. 'The Ministry will be sending an owl soon, then.'

'It won't be a bad idea to have a few extra members, Albus.' Arthur Weasley put in from his place behind his wife's chair. 'We don't know much about the boy and we could use other's,' he paused and everyone saw his eyes shift to Severus, 'talents.'

'You think Harry's a Death Eater!?' Black shouted.

'Sirius,' Albus admonished, 'please calm down.'

'You can't be serious!' Black continued, only slightly calmer. 'Harry wouldn't join Voldemort -' The room shivered and Severus glared, but Black ignored them all. 'no matter who he was talking to!'

'We cannot rule out the posibility.' Albus said, almost sadly. 'We do not know how he's lived sense he was four.'

'Voldemort was reserected when Harry was eleven.' Lupin pointed out.

'It's still possible that he was raised by a Death Eater without our knowledge.' Minerva pointed out.

Black growled but protested no longer. Moody took over then, turning to face Albus. 'There is a limit of three people aside from Aurors and the guardian in the questioning room, and you also have limits on what you can and cannot do in relation to the examinee - but you're told those later. Point is: what three are going in?'

'Obviously, one will be myself.' Albus said and Moddy nodded in foregone conclusion. 'One will be Severus,' Even though the majority of the Order had seen Weasley's glance, not too many believed Albus would actually bring him. Severus smirked. 'for the clear induction of the fact that he is a spy and knows the habits of Death Eaters.' Severus didn'm miss the fact that Albus left out the fact that Severus, himself, was a Death Eater and neither, it seemed, did the Order. 'He will be able to read into the slightest movements that Harry will make.'

Severus noticed that Albus seemed to be steeling himself for something, though he was sure no one else noticed. 'Molly,' he addressed the Weasley matriarch directly, 'I would like to ask permission for your daughter to accompany us.'

Molly flushed and did her best to not look angry. '_Excuse_ me, Professor, but why do you need my Ginny? There is no way I am letting her in with that boy when there is a chance he could hurt her! I will not -'

Albus cut her off gently. 'Molly, I very much wish for _your_ daughter for several reasons.' He explained, also speaking to Arthur now. 'She is a Weasley, as anyone could tell by your rather remarkable hair, and it will be obvious how well he knows our world if he shows any recognition. There is also the fact that, according to Severus, all of the Death Eaters know about the Chamber incident in her first year so he could also react to that. Third, I want to see his reaction to a young woman his age, to tell the sort of enviroment he grew up in. Finally, I wish to see his reaction to a _person_ his age. Now,' he headed off the protests that Molly was sure to put at his third reason. 'Ginerva is more than capable of taking care of herself in regards to a teenage boy, and even then there is only so much he can do in front of a handful of Aurors with magical bindings on. She will be perfectly protected.'

Molly looked very reluctant, but she also seemed proud that her daughter was being chosen. Severus sneered, what was Albus doing? It didn't matter how many reactions they could get from the girl, Severus wasn't blind and he knew that the youngest Weasley gained plenty of looks from her classmates - particularly the boys. Albus was only making this meeting potentially worse.

Both Weasley's finally agreed and Albus thanked them. He turned to Minerva and smiled, clapping his hands together and standing. 'Well, Professor McGonagall, If I may ask you to fetch Ms. Weasley for us. Please tell her to meet us in the Entrance Hall. You need not tell her anything - I will explain it all on the way.'

Minerva stood and left and Albus closed the meeting and everyone took turns flooing out. Soon it was only Severus, Black, Albus and Tonks that were in the office and the Headmaster was smiling at all of them. 'Well, I beleive we've left the Boy-Who-Lived at the ministry's hands for a bit to long, don't you agree?' He didn't let anyone answer, but simply shuffled them out of the room. 'I daresay we left Ms. Weasley a bit too long, as well.'

--------------------

Ginny Weasley was a fairly good student. She wasn't like Hermione Granger, a studious witch in her brother's year, and she prided herself on it. Grades weren't everything. She made sure to have fun in life: play Quidditch, relax, hang with her friends. She got Exceptables and Outstandings, the occational Acceptable so she was happy with her marks. But she was no Hermione Granger, which is why she got slightly nervous when McGonagall said that Professor Dumbledore needed her.

At first, she was worried that something had happened to one of her parents or older brothers while on Order business, but then she realized that Ron would have been called, too. Exams had just been finished, and there was no way they could have graded them quick enough to be able to tell her she failed and wouldn't be able to take her O.W.L.'s the next year.

She was deposited in the Entrance Hall and told to wait while McGonagall swept past her into the Great Hall. Ginny sat heavily on the bottom step of the marble staircase. She had to jump up almost immediately though, as the headmaster's voice came from just behind her.

'Ah, Miss Weasley,' he said with a light smile, his eyes taking on a twinkling quality. Actually, he looked almost _too_ innocent. It was the kind of look that the twins had when they knew a prank would go off without a hitch.

As she really couldn't give her headmaster a sharp response that she usually saved for the twins, she simply smiled uneasily. 'Hello Professor Dumbledore.'

'I'm sure you're rather curious as to why we need you.' It was only then that Ginny realized there were three other people behind the headmaster.

'Tonks! Sirius!' She smiled up at the two Aurors that happened to be Order members. Though, technically only Tonks was an auror because Sirius was still re-taking his auror tests. He had only recently been freed from Azkaban prison and had taken the time to settle down and get into the flow of things before going back to his old job. The twins had heard that the only reason he was going back to be an auror was to join the search for Harry Potter - though the search was much smaller now than it was when Harry Potter went missing at age four. Gunny looked to the last person and smiled uneasily. 'Hello Professor Snape.' Snape only sneered at her.

Dumbledore led the way out of the school, then. Ginny followed with Tonks and Sirius dividing her attention between the two of them. They talked about other Order members, her family, and then moved on to other trivial things. Professor Dumbledore interupted Sirius' tirade on which teams were top in Quidditch as they were passing the lake. 'Sirius, I apologise, but Miss Weasley must know of our purpose before we reach the ministry.'

The _Ministry_? They were going to the _ministry?_ 'Why the ministry?' She asked calmly, hoping she didn't show any of her nervous feelings. Though, she was pretty sure Snape saw through her with, as he had a nasty smirk on his face.

'Don't worry,' Professor Dumbledore said, smiling, 'no one did anything wrong that we know of. We are in need of your assistance with a young man the minitry took into custody. It is my belief that he will not talk, but that does not mean that we don't need to see how much he knows. Severus, here,' Snape scowled,' will be able to read the boy's reactions and tell him how much he knows.'

'What does this have to do with me?' Ginny asked, trying to keep her voice polite. It was rather hard when she was trying to get information about her part in questioning a dangerous person - who was aparently a kid.

'Nothing, nothing,' Professor Dumbledore said cheerily as they passed the gates to the grounds. 'We are simply in need of your assistance and the view of a young person's mind. It's amazing how brilliant children are.' He seemed to be talking to no one at the end. She was going to ask another question, but they stopped and Dumbledore smiled down at her. 'I'm going to ask you to take Sirius' arm and hold it firmly. We will be apparating into the Ministry.'

Ginny nodded and moved to Sirius, who was smiling tightly now. He seemed to be nervous about something - maybe he knew who the person was. They apparated quickly and Tonks led them down to the containment center. She was certain Sirius knew the person - he was getting more nervous by the second. As the aurors explained the rules of what both the prisoner and they could and couldn't do, Ginny was sure that she'd never been more anxious.

The head Auror then walked into the sound-proof room and began to speak to someone with some parchment. 'The interrogation of Harry James Potter, son of Lily and James Potter will begin at eleven . . .'

* * *

Question: Who you want Harry to be with? I can do slash, though it will be a bit more difficult. I need to know reasons, too, not just who you'd like. Tell me someone and why it would fit. Please and thank you! 


	3. Chapter 3

Yay for reviews! Now, for what they said . . . it was a dead split for Ginny. Half love her and half hate her guts. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but it'll come.

Sorry this took so long. I have a book due for editing and publishing, so I might not be able to update as much. . sorry.

Again, I'm still looking for a beta!

* * *

Harry glared malevolently at the four aurors in the Containment room - and the two that were just outside his heavily warded room. 

Didn't he feel loved?

"I take it we're waiting for someone." Harry stated without getting an answer - not that he expected one. He'd stopped answering their questions after the first one ("What is your name?" to which his answer was "Why do you care?") and the aurors were fairly pissed off. It was to the point that Harry hadn't heard them speak in most likely an hour.

"I'm assuming so," He answered himself. "As there's a bit of a ruckus in the corridor. What's going up, then?" Harry leaned towards his left slightly to look around one of the guards to look out of the small window on the steel door. One of the guards outside was putting up a fight about some new people outside the door but Harry couldn't say what it was about because there was a silencing charm on the door.

Eventually, the door opened and Harry quickly set his mask in place. It wouldn't do to react to the people coming in, all four of them. The first was Albus Dumbledore, though that was almost to be expected. After hearing enough about the meddling headmaster, he was sure that the head of the Order of the Phoenix would be here. Second into the room was Severus Snape. That one shocked Harry a bit. He didn't see why Dumbledore, much less the aurors would let a Death Eater into the room. Unless he was a traitor. The third was Sirius Black, though he'd certainly cleaned up well. The grime and filth from his picture in the Prophet had washed off nicely. Harry knew exactly why the man was here - Black was his godfather. Though, the general public didn't know that so Harry was sure he wasn't supposed to either. The fourth person into the room, who was most likely the reason why the aurors were hesitant outside of the door, was Ginny Weasley. Oh yes, Harry had heard plenty about this girl.

Dumbledore conjured four plush chairs for them and sat down in front of Harry with Black and Weasley on his right and Snape on his left. He smiled in a grandfatherly way. "Mister Potter! It's a pleasure to meet you - for real, of course. I knew you quite well as a baby, but surely you wouldn't remember that."

Harry didn't reply.

"Mister Potter, show Professor Dumbledore some respect." Snape snapped, glaring at him.

"Shut up, Snape." Harry replied flippantly. He realized his mistake when Snape raised an eyebrow. He wasn't supposed to know these people. Damn. "So who are those two?" It was best to salvage what was left of the situation.

"Sirius Black and Ginevra Weasley," Dumbledore answered with another smile.

Snape was watching him.

This meant only one thing: they wanted to see what Harry knew. They wanted to see how much Harry knew about the magical world, about things that were unknown to the public, and about the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. Well, _he_ wasn't going to give anything away. But what mask to give them? He'd already shown that he was defiant, so it was best to go with that at the very least. He didn't want to be kicked around as Harry Potter, so he knew he'd have to flash a little bit of power and knowledge - but not too much. They probably didn't want their Golden Boy to be dabbling in Death Eater affairs.

"What do you want with me?" Harry asked, getting straight to the point.

"We want you to come to Hogwarts - be a student there. We want you to learn." Dumbledore responded.

Harry grinned wryly, "And I suppose that I'm the Queen. I'm not stupid. What about the war?"

"Just what do you know about the war, Potter?" Snape asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He replied, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. He let a cocky grin flit to his face.

"Actually, It would be in your best interest to let us know." Shockingly, that was Black. Wasn't he a Gryffindor? They weren't supposed to be able to bribe and such.

"And why's that?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, never one to show his hand.

"You may be a minor, but I'm your guardian. That means that they the Ministry asks for my consent before anything happens to you. Right about now, they want you in jail for a while. You took down a few aurors. Luckily, they aren't dead, but they are in St. Mungos and won't be on the field for a bit. They want justice. They want you." Black slouched comfortably in his seat, something Harry couldn't do in his own because his hands were magically tied behind his back. Bastard was mocking him.

"And you'll let me out if I - what? Go to Hogwarts? That can't be it."

"You'll need to behave is what you'll need to do." Snape growled.

Harry raised an eyebrow. They had no leverage - didn't they see this? He could simply escape as soon as they let him loose. Of course he was going to agree.

"Of course, you'll need to take an oath to never leave the school grounds." Dumbedore added.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Of course. And what if I don't take it?"

"You'll stay here, won't you?" Black replied with certainty.

Harry sighed and looked over his options. "What else can I do?"

"You can wear a magical brace." Snape said with a malicious grin. It was obvious what _he_ wanted Harry to pick.

"How much magic do they restrict?" Harry asked.

"I would set it." Dumbledore replied promptly. "You would only be able to cast school spells."

Again, he sighed. He was left with absolutely nothing. "I don't suppose there's anything else?" He didn't expect an answer, nor did he get one.

"What's in this oath?" He finally said, not showing his frustration in his tone or face.

"You'll have to stay inside the castle grounds, unless vocally expressed by myself." Dumbledore said.

"No Hogsmeade?" Harry had slipped again. He wasn't supposed to know about much that went on in the school. That meant that he knew at least one student. Damn. He had to watch what he said.

"Maybe. If you behave." Dumbledore said, then continued. "You will be able to leave for the Holidays. Depending, again on your behavior, you will be able to see people that you know from where you lived before this point or you may spend them with Sirius if you so desire."

Harry said nothing, trying to find the proper way to say this without giving much away. He set his face to stone. "And what about matters and responsibilities I now hold?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and watched Harry for a moment. "We can take care of them after we leave today."

Harry mentally cursed the old bastard. Now the group would know what he did and where he lived. But it wasn't as if he could just leave behind his life without telling people anything. He had quite a bit of responsibilities in his life. "Right. Let's do the oath, then."

Dumbledore gestured for the guards, the only ones that could use magic in the room, to release Harry's hands and to allow Black to use his wand for only this spell. Harry reached forward and grasped Dumbedore's hand in his own. But before he could say anything, the headmaster pulled back and flipped over Harry's hand.

"Where did this come from?" He was referring to the deep, thick scar that ran across his palm. When Harry stayed silent, he continued, "A story for a rainy day, then."

They, again, clasped hands. Black stood over them with his wand pointed to their hands. And now, they turned to Harry. He knew he could botch this, but he assumed there would be some sort of punishment - like not being able to tend to his _responsibilities._

"Do you know how a Vow works?"

Harry nodded, not wanting to explain how.

Dumbledore began. "Will you, Harry James Potter, stay within the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry unless willfully given my consent?"

"I will." Harry said and a thin tongue whipped out from Black's wand to wind around their hands.

"And will you," the headmaster continued, "Obey all rules that pertain to the safety of the students and staff in the school?" He winked.

"I will." Harry said with a small smirk while Snape watched with a flabbergasted expression. Dumbledore had just given Harry permission to cause all sorts of trouble! A second flame joined the first.

"And will you be aware that if you begin to break any rule, you will not be killed, but simply alerted?"

Harry looked up, confused. Was he being treated . . . kindly? "I will?" He tried not to make it sound like a question, but it came out that way. Third flame.

"And will you be aware that you will not be killed if this is broken, but simply stunned?" Dumbledore had a small smile on his face, obviously loving Harry's reaction.

Harry was shocked. Why did they trust him this much? "I - will."

The fourth flame finally sealed the spell as the ropes of light sunk into the skin of both bound by the Unforgivable Vow.


	4. Chapter 4

He he. I love confusing people. I think I'll ditch Ginny, unless I can't find a way to fit another character in.

I still need a beta! Please?

* * *

"How will this work, then?" Harry asked, pulling his hand from Dumbledore's. 

"What do you mean?" Black questioned, already standing up and vanishing his and the Weasley's chair.

"How many restrictions will I have as we get around?" He replied with a scowl. He really wasn't looking forward to being restricted for the first time in his life, but if it had to be done to hide himself so be it.

"We will simply have a tracker." Dumbledore said with a smile, quickly strapping a simple black band around his wrist. Once the two ends connected, they fused together - there wasn't a way to get it off. Lovely. Now he certainly couldn't slip away without them knowing.

"Am I leading, then?" Harry asked and, without waiting for an answer, led the four out of the room. He smirked at the guards as they watched him wearily. The group got plenty of odd looks around the ministry, but Harry didn't much care. No one knew what he looked like - yet - so they simply noticed Dumbledore, and most likely Black.

As they walked, Harry took the time to eye up the girl. She certainly wasn't bad looking, but she wasn't the best either. He'd seen better. Hell, he'd slept with better. She was fairly normal, though the vivid red hair was something different to look at. Over all, Harry had to admit that he would bang her if given the chance.

They'd gotten outside of the ministry, by way of an old red telephone box and Harry looked around to see what part of London they were in. He quickly calculated that there was a subway station one block to the right and if they took two stops they'd reach one of his destinations.

"How do you feel about the law?" Harry asked flippantly, waiting for reactions.

Black shrugged, Snape sneered, Weasley looked at him slightly uneasily, and Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and asked to what degree.

Harry hadn't expected the last. "So you break a few laws here and there, then." He smirked. "Good. Because the places we're going aren't completely legal. Especially the way we get there." Laughing at their faces, he led them to the underground, dodging the crowds and jostling people in the process. When they got to the ticket barrier, he was able to produce the right amount of tickets for everyone.

"When did you get those?" Weasley asked.

"Along the way." Harry replied with a smirk. The girl caught on quick and narrowed her eyes.

"That's stealing."

"Not really." Harry led them to a bench and kicked up his feet, mindless of the glares he received from his rudeness. "I prefer to call it borrowing without return."

"Or permission." She snapped angrily, glaring openly at him.

"Oh, please." Harry sighed, tired of the innocence she held. She was, what - fifteen? Sixteen? "How old are you?"

"Fifteen." She replied with discontent.

She was a year younger than Harry. She was far to ignorant to the world around her. It was horribly obnoxious and Harry hated that people tended to stay ignorant. Ignorant people were the reason the world had half of the problems it did today.

The ride went by quickly and silently. Harry hurried off at the correct stop and didn't wait for the others to follow. They stepped out of the subway and he could see, out of the corner of his eye, the shocked looks on their faces. This was probably the worst part of London, so it only made sense that they would be surprised. Why wouldn't they? They'd just learned that their Boy-Who-Lived wasn't the best brought-up kid in the world. He was probably one of the worst.

He led them down a side alley with only a side door to an apartment building and a few trash bins. He stopped and turned to face them with a wary look. "Could you - make yourselves invisible or something? I'd rather these guys not know that there's any adults with me."

"Why?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow. "Got something to hide, Potter?"

Harry didn't answer, instead he chose to stand and wait patiently for them to put a charm on themselves. Dumbledore took the honors, sweeping his wand silently and they were out of sight. Taking the initiative, Harry strode quickly to the side door and knocked out the proper code, using his palms, fingers, and every other surface of his hands. The door opened when he finished and Pete's head poked out, the barrel of a gun pointing at his face.

"Oh, hey Luce."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What's with the extra precaution?"

"We had an attack the other day." Pete replied, lowering the gun and leaning on the door jam. "We're actually moving our place - just packing up a few more things and waiting for you to show up so we can tell you our new place."

"Actually, that's one of the reasons I came."

"Yeah. I didn't think you'd come for more smokes already. I gave you a few months worth - at least." Pete smirked.

"I'm moving."

Pete's eyebrows furrowed. "How far?"

"I'm not sure, but out of London entirely." Harry replied shortly.

Pete contemplated him for a moment. "Hmm. Well, I won't ask, but I hope you know what you're doing. Will you have a new supplier then? And what about -"

"I'll send something your way. I'll still get my smokes from you - if you don't mind sending them by odd means of transportation."

"As long as we get the money." Pete smiled wryly, and then pressed his unanswered question. "What about -"

"I'm not sure." Harry replied, not wanting Pete to finish the question. He wasn't sure what he was doing about his kids. He certainly couldn't leave them alone for an entire year. Sighing and running a hand through his long black hair that reached to his shoulders, he contemplated his options.

He could leave them in the house and have someone to check up on them. Who was he kidding? He didn't trust anyone enough. He didn't trust anyone at all. His only option was to bring them with him. But would Dumbledore let him? And how would he handle it?

"Look," Pete said, breaking the silence, "I know you don't trust easy, but if you wanted . . ."

"No." Harry replied firmly, sharply. "No offence."

Pete nodded. "I get it. So did you want to stock up?"

Harry reached into the bag on his back and fished out his money. He didn't have nearly enough to feed everyone tonight, which meant that he didn't eat at all. Wait - he would be fed wherever Dumbledore took him. If he wasn't fed, then he would steal. It wasn't a problem for him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I will." He passed over the money and Pete called for the girls.

Not a minute later, Britta appeared at the door so Harry could only assume that Lily was off getting the goods. "Hey Lucifer." She greeted blandly. "You hear we're moving? This area's a threat now."

"Yes. I'm moving, too."

"I'm thinking it's not of your free will, though." Pete observed as Lily finally came into view. Harry never commented.

"Here." Lily snapped, tossing him the pack.

Harry took a mock bow. "Lily, fantastic to see you. How've you been?"

"Shut up." Lily sneered, her eyes filled with hate. "Just die already."

"Why? Dying will please you." Harry replied with a smirk. "I live to piss you off."

Lily flipped him off and turned her back on him, walking back into the house. Harry made a quick goodbye, wishing Pete and Britta luck in finding a new place. Dumbledore promptly made the group visible again and they were now looking at him curiously, calculating. Harry cursed internally, but knew it was inevitable. He wasn't all powerful and it was part of the deal. Harry would be able to stay out of jail and, though Dumbledore didn't know it yet, but be able to care for his kids.

Speaking of his kids . . . How would he be able to keep them? The only way, he supposed, was to ask. There was no other way around it. He wouldn't trust his kids with anyone else. "Can - What -" Harry sighed and ran a hand down his face, exhausted already from this day. How could he put this. "Are there people other than teachers and students allowed in the school?"

Snape looked at him curiously. "Why? What did you have in mind?"

"I have some - people - I'm responsible for. They need to stay with me." Another thing just occurred to Harry. What if they tried to take them away? He wasn't of age yet and wouldn't be for a year. What if they tried to take his kids?

"I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem." Dumbledore said with a jovial smile. He was obviously trying to get on Harry's good side by making himself seem like the kindly old man. Though Harry was grateful they weren't putting up a fight, he wouldn't be easily swayed. "What ages are they? Your age? And are they magical or muggle? If they're muggle, then I might advise a muggle safe house we have."

"They - they're six and four."

They stopped and stared at Harry, trying to see if he was serious or not. Black looked a little worried, as if he believed the kids were Harry's. Weasley just looked shocked. Snape looked very calculating. He obviously was beginning to look at him differently. Dumbledore - Harry didn't know what to make of him. But whatever it was that they were thinking, they had better not have been thinking 'no'.

"Take it or leave it." Harry said sharply, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not leaving my kids behind. They need me."

"Of course." Dumbledore finally nodded. "Lead the way."

Harry didn't know what to think as he led the group around the corner and down a good few blocks. He walked inside of the broken-down building that he lived in, aware of the group behind him. What were they playing at? Did they want Harry to trust them? Because if that was what they wanted - forget it. He didn't trust anyone. Ever.

He unlocked the door to their room in the complex and called out. "Brennan? Alice? I'm back."

"Daddy!" Alice squealed from the other room. Harry heard her clamber off of her bed and run across the room, tripping on her small assortment of toys. She ran into the room but stopped short when she saw the group behind him. She froze, her eyes wide and fearful. Harry knew that it was because she'd hardly seen, much less talked to people in the last year or so.

"Don't worry," Harry explained to her. "I know these people. It's ok." He didn't need to point out that he hadn't said 'they're with me' or 'trust them'. Alice was a smart girl and would probably pick up on that, too. Harry was certain the four behind him had. "Where's Brennan?"

Alice seemed to snap out of it slightly, but she was still shy. Harry couldn't wait until she went into Hogwarts - he'd heard there were tons of kids. "He's in the loo. He'll be out in a minute."

As if called, the wild boy ran from the bathroom at top speeds, crashing into Harry with a huge hug. "You're back! You didn't come home last night and I wasn't sure what to do. I put Alice to bed, like you said. If anything happens, I'm to do things on schedule anyway and you would find a way to contact me. I did just -" He'd stopped as he, too realized they had company. Instead of Alice's shy response, Brennan glared at them and was outright. "Who are you?"

"I'm Albus Dumbledore." The headmaster chuckled, kneeling down. "I run Hogwarts, a magical school."

"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid." Brennan snapped. "I'm six, not retarded. Don't treat me like a kid." Indead, the boy held himself with the grace of one much older than his age.

"I apologize." Dumbledore replied, standing back up.

"I'm Ginny Weasley." The teen girl spoke with a much nicer tone than the one that she used with Harry. Alice seemed keen to meet another girl, but she wouldn't move out from behind Harry's legs.

"Sirius Black." The ex-con introduced with a grin.

"Professor Severus Snape," said the giant bat from the back of the group. Brennan looked at him a little longer than most.

"He's a bit like us, that man." Brennan said to Harry. "He hasn't had an easy life." He turned to Black, "and this one's seen too much. He's scarred." Harry smirked at the boy continued to impress the group. "You are very old." He said to Dumbledore, "but don't mistake age for wisdom. You have lots of power and you're on the verge of being too controlling." Finally, he turned to Weasley. "You get picked on, so you try and stick up for yourself. But don't loose yourself in the process."

Dead silence followed the speech.

Harry broke it with a choked laugh of sorts. It had been too long since he'd laughed so it didn't sound natural. "That's Brennan for you." He crouched down then, to speak to the kids easier. "Ok guys, we're going to be moving, and it'll be for a while - maybe forever. We might have a house."

"A real house?" Brennan asked, a joyful smile on his face. "Like on the telly? Will we have a yard? And a dog - can we get a big black dog? A retriever, so he'll like the water!"

Harry smiled sadly. "Maybe. I don't have much money, though. The house might not even be mine." Harry glanced up at Dumbledore, but just barely. "I don't think I could buy a dog either."

"We could find one." Alice insisted. "Just like us! We could find one on the streets. One that doesn't live with it's mum and dad anymore."

"Maybe." Harry couldn't find it within himself to say no. They still had their hopes and dreams. "So go collect your toys and clothes. Pack up everything because we probably can't come back."

He stood up and walked to the couch to grab a normal sized traveling bag and slung it easily over his shoulder. The bag held his clothes and a few other things that he didn't normally keep in his backpack. While his kids ran around collecting things and double-checking, Harry walked over to Dumbledore to speak about a few more things.

"How will I be expected to pay for things - I imagine there will be school supplies? How much do I pay for Brennan and Alice? Food? Board?"

"No, of course not." Dumbledore replied with a smile. "There's no need to pay for the little ones. School supplies you will pay for with money from your vault."

"My vault?" Of course, Harry knew all about his vault but he didn't want to let them know that.

"Your parents left behind some money for you for your school years. When you come of age, you will be able to get into the Potter Family Vault."

"How much money do I have?" This was one thing that Harry didn't know.

"Converted, I believe it's roughly four million pounds."

Harry had heard wrong. "_What!?"_

Dumbledore smiled. "Four million pounds."

Harry's head was spinning. Four _million._ What a man could do with four million! But that wasn't what Harry was thinking about. The first thing he did was gather his kids into his arms. "Hey guys," he said in a husky tone, a smile in his voice, "Guys, how about you find a name for your new puppy."


End file.
